Tension control for textile twisting apparatus



Jan. 19, 1960 F. R. BORGES, JR

TENSION CONTROL FOR TEXTILE TWISTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 18, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 n W F m m w w w w w 1 z 7 g gfi m3 m \w a n 4 %8O 8 O M m P n 4 J u u M K 0 w lm INVENTOR FRANK RLBORGES JR M Wrfl ATTORNEY Jan. 19, 1960 F. R. BORGES, JR

TENSION CONTROL FOR TEXTILE TWISTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 18. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIO INVENTOR FRANK R. BORGES,JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent TENSION CONTROL FOR TEXTILE TWISTING APPARATUS Application August 18, 1954, No. 450,591

12 Claims. (Cl. 242-154) This invention relates to a device for regulating the tension in a strand of yarn or the like of the type where-. in a movable strand engaging member is urged toward a second strand engaging member with increasing force as the tension in the strand decreases and more particularly the invention relates to improved means for biasing the movable member toward the second member in devices which are particularly adapted for operation inside the pedestal of a two-for-one textile twisting machine.

In tWo-for-one twisters, particularly of the outflow type, it is'generally advantageous that a yarn tension regulator be positioned within the pedestal which serves as a support for the yarn supply package, and while any one of several different types of tension regulators can be employed, the type generally considered to offer the best control comprises at least one pair of yarn engaging members between which the yarn is passed. The surface area in contact with the yarn as it passes between the two membets decreases as the distance between the two members increases and means for varying this distance automatically in direct relationship to the tension in the yarn results in the moving yarn being maintained under a relatively constant tension. Such an arrangement necessitates means for biasing the movable yarn engaging member toward a second yarn engaging member with decreasing force as the distance between the two members increases.

Prior to this invention the most commonly employed biasing means has comprised a leaf spring with a cantilever loop acting at a relatively large angle to the direction of movement of the movable yarn engaging member. While such an arrangement results in adequate tension control, it possesses certain inherent disadvantages which cannot be readily overcome. For example, the leaf spring cannot readily be removed for the insertion of a spring of different characteristics when the type of yarn being handled is changed; it is generally necessary that each spring be hand fitted to a particular tension regulator and the springs are not interchangeable from one regulator to another; and a special die or punch is necessary for the production of the cantilever springs.

It is an object of this invention to provide a biasing mechanism, for a movable member in a yarn tension regulator, wherein the elements do not require hand fitting.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a biasing mechanism for a yarn tension regulator, utilizing parts which can be made in quantity with readily available machine tools.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide biasing means, for a yarn tension regulator, utilizing a standard compression spring.

According to this invention the movable yarn engaging member of thetensioning device is urged toward a second yarn engaging member by a relatively inflexible, extensible member-preferably in the form of matching male and female telescoping elements. Means preferably in the form of-a spiral spring positioned around the extensible member are provided for urging elongation of the extensible member and the ends of the member. are in each instance provided with a pivot stem or the like so that when the member is compressed between a support and the movable yarn engaging element, the extensible member is free to pivot relative to both the support and the yarn engaging member.

Two preferred embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates, largely in cross-section, the pedestal of a two-for-one textile twisting machine containing a yarn tension regulator employing biasing apparatus according to the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view, partially in section, of the extensible member and coiled spring of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a view, taken at right angles to that of Figure 1, of the pedestal with parts broken away and in section to better illustrate the tension regulating apparatus.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view, partially in sect-ion, illustrating a second type of extensible member.

With reference to the drawings in greater detail and with particular reference to Figures 1 andr3 of the drawings, there is illustrated the upper part of a pedestal such as may be employed in a two-for-one textile twisting machine of the outflow type. The reference numeral 10 designates a tubular support member or housing, made of aluminum or other suitable material, which .is adapted to be supported by the platform of the twister, not illustrated. The housing 10 serves as a support for a pedestal cap generally, indicated by the reference numeral 12, which is provided with a central bore -14 through which a yarn end from a yarn supply package is adapted to be passed downwardly to a tension regulating device generally indicated by the reference numeral 16. v

The tension regulator 16 comprises a fixed yarn engaging member, in this instance illustrated as comprising a plurality of parallelbar or pin members 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26, which can be formed of any suitable abrasion resistant material such as stainless steel, synthetic sapphire or a ceramic material. In this instance, the bar members are illustrated as being directly supported by the tubular housing 10 and can be secured in position by frictional engagement with suitable openings extend ing through the walls of the housing. The bar members are preferably evenly spaced in the axial direction of the housing 10 and are set transversely across the bore of the member 10 slightly disposed to one side of the diamettical center.

Cooperating with the stationary yarn engaging member is a movable yarn engaging member illustrated as comprising-a pivot arm 30 carrying a plurality of elongated pin or rod members 32, 34, 36 and 38. The pin members 32, 34, 36 and 38 can be attached to arm 30 by any suitable means and are formed of any suitable abrasion resistant material. The spacing of the members 32, 34, 36 and 38 should be such that they will freely intermesh or interdigitate with the members 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26 so that a yarn strand passed between the two sets of elongated members contacts each of the members in a partial wrap and is forced to follow a tortuous path. Either members 32, 34, 36 and 38 or members 18, 20, 22, 24 or 26 are preferably convexly curved to assist in centering the yarn as it is drawn between the stationary and movable yarn engaging elements.

The lower end of arm 30 is bifurcated with each of the two legs 40 and 41 having their extremities sharpened 1 44 positioned in the lower'end of housing 10. This 34,36 and 38 to undergo limited pivotal movement about the axis of knife edges 42 and 43 thereby moving members 32, 34, 36 and 38 toward and away from stationary elements "18 15 2'6. 7 lA n el ongated tubular member extends'iu pwardly the support 44 and serves as a yarn guide tdreceivethe yarn after it has passed between the elementsb'ftension regulator 16. V i V 1 7 i The tension regulator'is illustratedas being provided with"a -preliminary tension array comprising a pair of matched plates or blocks 48 v50 made of'an abrasion resistant material and between which the moving strand is adapted to be passed. .The upper end of arm 30 is P '9Y d with a curved portiQQQ'extending substantially atright angles to the main portion of the arm, which serves support forpl tc positions the plate in 'the yarn'p'athl Block"50 is s 'lidea'bly mounted on a h I rods cne c whi h "i. u d"ia i 2; nd is urged toward plate 148 with a relatively constantfforce provided "by a leaf spring 54' which is secured" to the innenwall of tubularmember by any suitable means such as screw 56; The preliminary array tensions the yarn "entering the fixed and"movableniembers of the tension regulator 16 to a sufficient extent to insure the proper operation of the regulator.

Positioned 'on' arm 30 about midway of its length is a' block member 58 which can be securedin' position by any suitable means such as by screws 60 and 62. The block member 58 preferably provided with a downwardly sloping upper face in which there is formed a pivot seat'or cup 64 adapted to receive a pivot stem or the like. Arm 30 is preferably -provided with a'slot ,for weight reduction, and to increase the areaavailable for'pivot seat '62,'block 58 can be provided with a lug section 68 which extends into slot The pivot 'seat64 can be formed in any suitable manner such as for example by drilling a small well and thereafter reamin'giorit the upper portion of the well wit h a conical fe'mfi p V A knurled collar 70 is positioned around the upper extremity of member 10 and is adapted to be moved longitudinally by means of screw threads.' The collar provided with a lie-entrant groove near its base is adapted to receive a tongue 74 on a slide member, generally indicated by the reference numeral 7.6, which is adapted to be moved. up anddown member 10'by rotation of collar 7 The upper section of tubular member 10 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot .78 and the, extreme edges of at least a section of slide member .76 are adapted to bear against the sides of slot 78rso'that rotation of slide member 76 with collar 70 is :therebyzprevented. Slide member 76 is provided with a lower face, which is at an angle to the longitudinalaxis of member 10.and extends roughly parallel to the upper face of block member 58, and a pivotseat or cup, similar to that in block member 58, is also formed in the lower face of slide member 76.

:Extending'through slot 78 from the pivot seat in slide member 76 to the pivot seat in block '58 is 'aibiasing device comprising a relatively inflexible, extensible,-ortelescoping member generally indicated by the reference numeral 80. The extensible member 80 (see Figure 2) comprises a tubular female element 82 and a matching male element 84 whichds adapted to telescope into the member '821' Member 82 'is provided-with an annular flange 85 near-one end which tapers into a pivot pin or stem a hemispherical or ball tip adapted .torest in mascara provided'by the pivotse'at, in either slide, member or block 58,.and' member 84 is provided with s mjle annular flange 88 an'dpivot stem 90. A "spiral spring 92 is positioned around extensible member 80 and bears againstflange 85 and flange 88 thereby urging the longitudinal extension of member 30 and so that the elements of the extensible member will nothe com aazmzw 4 pletely separated, a means is provided for limiting the longitudinal extension thereof comprising a constricted entrance 94 into member 82' and a shoulder 96, of larger diameter than the entrance 94, on the end of member 84. When collar 70 is screwed downwardly on member 10 thereby compressing spring 92, the arm 30 is encouraged to rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, so a cl e t 3 3,4. 3.6 a fifi int l ve w h ments 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26. Free rotation isinsured as a result of the relatively friction ,free action of knife edges 42 and 43 and pivot pins 86 and 9,0 in their corresponding pivot seats. So that arm 30 may be rotated in a counterclockwise direction to separate the elements of the tension regulator for purposes of threading, the arm 30 is provided near its upper extremity with a bandle 98 which can'be g rasp'ed by the operator and pulled outwardly through slot 78.

Since the longitudinal axis of extensible member 80 intersects the longitudinal of pivotarrn'iatl at an angle 'is n s angle increa e a mem r 32, 36 and 38 more closely interleave with members 18, 2t), 2 .4 an 2. it wi be app c at d yi hcs ki in h a ha th ro ationa o e ex rted .on arm 39 increases as the rnovable yarn engaging member more closely approaches the fixed yarn [engaging member. While the angle at which the longitudinal of extensible member 86 intersects the longitudinal axis of arm 30 may vary within wide limits, best results are obtained when this angle is less than a maximum of so that a major component of the force exerted by member 80 is directed longitudinally of arm' 30 toward the pivot axis of the arm.

In operation, a yarn end-is wrapped several turns around a threading tool which is then passed through bore 14 in cap 1'2,'between plates 48 and and thereafter between the fixed and inovable elements of regulator 16 into tubular guide 46. Knurled collar 70 is then positioned to give the proper compression of spring 92 so that the desired tensionin the yarn end is obtained. If the tension in the strand entering cap 12 should increase, arm 30 is thereby rotated in a-counterclockwise direction, as viewed 'in Figure 1, so that the degree of contact of the moving strand with the' yarn contacting elements of the tension regulator is decreased. This retains the output tension in the yarn relatively constant. Should the input tension in the strand decrease, the degree of contact of the yarn with the elements of the tension regulator is increased and again the output tension in the strand is retained relatively constant.

In Figure 4 of the drawings there isillustrated a bias ing device generally similartothe devicecomprisingmemher 80 and spring 92, which have been previously described, which can be substituted for the latter device in the apparatus illustrated in Figures .1 and 3 of the drawings With reference to Figure 4 of the drawings there is illustrated an extensible member comprising a female element'100 and a matchingmale element 102 adapted to telescope therein. The outer ends of both themale and female elements are provided with annular flanges 104 and 106 and acting against these flanges is a coiled spring 108 surrounding the body of the extensible member. The spring 108 is of such length that when it is atnrest, member 102 still engages member and to prevent the members from becoming entirely separated, spring 108 is provided with closely wound sections on either end which are adapted to engage screw threads on member 100 adjacent flange 104 and screw threads :on member 102 adjacent flange 106. So that entrapped air will not interfere with the free action of the extensible member, there is provided an orifice 110 in the wall of member 100 whereby the pressure inside I the chamber remains at atmospheric at all times.

, Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Batent is;

In. a ram seri -s first m1 gaging member and a second yarn engaging member relatively movable with respect to said first member, improved means for biasing said second member toward said first member comprising a support, a relatively inflexible, extensible member extending from said support to said second yarn engaging member and being pivotally connected to each of said support and said second yarn engaging member, and means. urging elongationof said extensible member. Y

2 In a yarn tensioning device having a first yarn engagmg member and a second yarn engaging member with an elongated pivot arm, whereby said second member is adapted for pivotal movement with respect to said first member, improved means for biasing said second member toward said first member comprising a support adjustably positioned with respect to said first member, a pivot seat carried by said support, a pivot seat carried by said second yarn engaging member, an elongated, telescoping member, provided with pivot stems on either end, adapted to extend between and being respectively connected with the pivot seat carried by said support and the pivot seat carried by said second yarn engaging member, and spring means urging elongation of said telescoping member said telescopic member being free to move angularly in both said pivot seats during relative movement of said yarn engaging members.

3. A yarn tensioning device for two-for-one twisters comprising a tubular support member, a series of parallel bar members spaced along a vertical plane in said support member, a movable arm, a series of similarly spaced parallel elongated members carried by said arm, said arm being pivotable about a horizontal axis intersecting the longitudinal axis of said tubular member to thereby move said elongated members from a position spaced apart from that of said bar members to a position such that said elongated members intermesh with said bar members and are positioned in substantially the same plane therewith, and resilient means biasing said arm from said first-named position to said last-named position with increasing force as said arm approaches said lastnamed position, said resilient means comprising a relatively inflexible, extensible member having one end pivotably supported by said arm, and spring means urging elongation of said extensible member.

4. A device as in claim 3 wherein said extensible member is operatively positioned in a plane intersecting the plane of said arm at an angle such that the component of the force exerted by said extensible member on said arm and urging said arm longitudinally of said tubular support member in the direction of the pivot axis of said arm is greater than the component of the force exerted by said extensible member in a direction transverse to the plane of said bar members.

5. A device as in claim 3 wherein said tubular support member is provided with a longitudinally extending slot, and including a slide member adapted to move lengthwise of said slot, and a collar carried threadwise by said tubular support member and engaging said slide member, said slide member having a pivot seat adapted to receive one end of said extensible member, whereby the force exerted by said spring means can be varied by rotation of said collar.

6. A yarn tensioning device for two-for-one twisters comprising a tubular support member having a longitudinally extending slot, a series of parallel bar members spaced along a vertical plane in said support member, a movable arm, a series of similarly spaced parallel elongated members carried by said arm, said arm being pivotable about a horizontal axis intersecting the longitudinal axis of said tubular support member to thereby move said elongated members from a position spaced apart from that of said bar members to a position such that said elongated members intermesh with said bar members and are positioned in substantially the same plane therewith, a slide member adapted to move lengthwise of said plane of said arm at an angle not greater than 45 so that a major component of the force exerted by said extensible member is directed longitudinally of said arm toward its pivot axis, whereby said arm is urged with increasing force as it approaches said last-named position from said first-named position.

7. A device according to claim 6 wherein said extensible member comprises a female element and a matching male element adapted to telescope within said female element, said extensible member being provided with annular flanges near either end thereof, and said spring means comprises a spiral spring mounted around said member and adapted to bear against said flanges.

8. A device according to claim 7 wherein there is provided means for limiting the longitudinal extension of said extensible member.

9. In a yarn tensioning device having a tubular support member, a series of spaced apart yarn-engaging members spaced substantially along an imaginary plane extending substantially parallel to the axis of said tubular support member and being mounted in said tubular support member, a second series of spaced apart yarn engaging members, and support means supporting said second series of yarn engaging members in staggered relation with said first series of yarn engaging members and for relative movement toward and from said first series, said support means and said tubular member each having a pivot supporting surface formed thereon, said pivot supporting surfaces substantially facing each other; the improvement of a tension regulator comprising a pair of relatively movable and complementary telescoping ele-' ments each having at its outer end a pivot stem formed thereon and complementary to said pivot supporting surfaces for engagement therewith, and spring means resiliently urging said elements apart.

10. In a yarn tensioning device having a tubular support member, a series of spaced apart yarn-engaging members spaced substantially along an imaginary plane extending substantially parallel to the axis of said tubular support member and being mounted in said tubular support member, a second series of spaced apart yarn engaging members, and support means supporting said second series of yarn engaging members in staggered relation with said first series of yarn engaging members and for relative movement toward and from said first series, said support means and said tubular member each having a pivot supporting surface formed thereon, said pivot supporting surfaces substantially facing each other; the improvement of a tension regulator comprising a pair of relatively movable and complementary telescoping elements each having at its outer end a pivot stern formed thereon and complementary to said pivot supporting surfaces for engagement therewith, and spring means resiliently urging said elements apart, and said telescoping elements having means limiting the extent of outward relative movement of said relatively movable elements.

11. In a tensioning device having a tubular support member, a series of parallel spaced apart bar members disposed in said support member, a movable arm, a series of similarly spaced parallel elongated members carried by said arm, said arm being pivotable about an axis spaced from said first series of members to thereby move said elongated members from a position spaced apart from that of said bar members to a position such that said elongated members intermesh with said bar .7 members and are positioned in substantially the same plane therewith; saidsupport member and said arm each having a pivot supporting surface formed thereon, and in facing rel o the improvement of a tension regulator comprising a pair of relatively movable and complementary telescopic elements each having at its outer end a pivot stem formed thereon and complementary to a respective one of said pivot supporting surfacesfor engagement therewith, spring means resiliently urging said elements apart, said telescopic elements being relatively positioned in a plane intersecting the plane of said arm at an angle such that the component ofthe force exerted by said extensible member on said arm and urging said arm longitudinally of said tubular support member in the direction of the pivot axis of said arm is greater than the component of the force exerted by said extensible member in a direction transverse to a plane passing through said bar members.

12. In a yarn tensioning device having a first yarn engaging member and a second yarn engaging member with an elongated pivot arm, whereby said second member is adapted for pivotal movement with respect to said first member, improved means for biasing said second member toward said first member comprising a support adjustably positioned with respect to said first member, a pivot seat carried by said support, a pivot seat carried by said second yarn engaging member, an elongated, telescoping member, provided with pivot stems on either end, adaptedto extend between and being respectively connected with the pivot seat carried by said support and the pivot seat carriedgbysaidtsecond yarn engaging iziember, said: pivot;.seats ,each being formed in a cup shape, being circular: in; cross section at its rim portion, said pivot stemshaving rounded ends, the radius of said cup shape seats. at their rim portion being less than the radius of said pivot stem ends, said stems engaging said seats at, said rim portions to thereby form a circular line contact between said stems and their pivot seats, and

- spring means urging elongation of said telescoping member, said telescopic member being free to move angularly in both'said pivot seats during relative movement of said yarn engaging members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

